An Animated Classic: Looking Back on Balto, 25 Years Later 

Any kid even slightly interested in animals experiences that white wolf scene like it was Gandalf the White coming to Helm's Deep. It was one of my first experiences of cinematic awe. James Horner really killed it. And the body language and character design of the animals is genuinely so good. Another wonderful video!

In Balto II Balto actually mentions he remembers his mother being a wolf with snow white fur and a beautiful voice. I know some people aren't big fans of the white wolf being given an identity since it was meant to be vague, but I remember losing my mind as a kid at the realization it was his mother, and the idea of Balto having a vision of her in his time of need made the scene so much more impactful to me. Chokes me up every time

"Kids" movies have usually had the hardest-hitting moments in them for me. I still remember the moment the doctor confirms he's out of anti-toxin.

I’ve watched this 149 times already, and can confirm that it is indeed a certified Cardinal West classic.

Balto is one of my favorite movies. Even though it hits differently for me as an adult, it still hits hard. It's a shame it wasn't a financial success, and was the last movie Amblimation ever made.

When I was little my mom would tell me that the white wolf was Balto's mother's spirit giving him hope, courage and confidence back. Super cute to think back on it now lol. Wonderful video to bring me back to that time ❤️

This channel was a breath of fresh air in the video essay genre that is now plagued by people just reciting what happens through the media they talk about, thank you for giving proper care to the context and production

Man I missed hand drawn and 2D animation in old days I wished they would bring back it original glory and prominence before being overtaken and overshadowed by 3D and CGI animation

I always admire "Balto" as part of my childhood and I used to loved it because of its beautiful animation work and I like the true story, I put this movie with my other favorite animated movies like "Anastasia", "Lady And The Tramp" and my most favorite movie from the year of my birth "The Prince Of Egypt".

This movie and spirit stallion of the cimarron were both massive inspirations to me as a child and are still some of my all time favourite movies. They are the reason I’ve pursued animation as a career and I know they’ll inspire generations of children to come

The white wolf sequence still gives me chills every time I see it. I love how it's never explained. You just have to FEEL it. I (and a lot of others) always got the sense that the white wolf was Balto's mother. Either her spirit or a vision of her.

I'm so glad someone took some time to talk about how beautiful this movie is. And that I have read so many lovely comments here!!! I literally bawled my eyes out while watching this! THANK YOU!

This is a film I’m desperate to see receive more recognition. It’s one of the last movies of the hand drawn animation era before CGI took over. (Although character coloring and many lighting and other special effects were done in photoshop.) It’s critically underrated and is one of the most impactful G-rated movies I’ve ever seen. I’m not asking for a live action remake or anything, but I wish Universal would give it more attention. It’d be cool if they did something in 2025, which will be the 30th anniversary of the movies release, and the 100th anniversary of the great race of mercy.

I showed Balto to my students during our holiday party before winter break. They’d never seen it before and were all super engaged and ended up loving it. It’s really hard to get kids to sit and watch a movie because they are so used to things like TikTok and RU-vid shorts and other short form content. But they sat and watched Balto, and they loved it.

I always thought the white wolf was like, the specter of Balto's wolf mother, idk it just felt natural to me

I actually cried like 3 times watching this video because of how beautiful and nostalgic the music and animation is

Thank you so much for this video! Growing up Balto was one of my most beloved movies, and after seeing TOGO I felt sad that what I had accepted as a fantastically embellished story of childhood, negated to mention the bravery of other dogs and their mushers. I didn’t really know how to feel about Balto which I had once cherished. Thank you for telling the whole story, and also arguing that the spirit in which Baltos animated story was told lives in harmony and in respect with the real life events, relieved me of any guilt I had and helps me once again unconditionally adore this movie !

I watched the first half of this last night, fell asleep intending to finish it in the morning, and woke up to an entire remaster? Christmas miracle. (Excellent work man, I’ve been binging your channel for a few days now, starting with the video about Fox and the Hound changing the animation landscape. Every video has been a treat so far)

You know I never cried at a video essay before, but this one? Man, right in the feels my guy.

Balto was a very important movie to my childhood much like the book White Fang was. It's such a gorgeous film with some very emotional messaging.

this was the only kids dvd my grandparents owned when i was growing up, everything else was opera and church stuff. i’ll never forget this gem for the many times grandad and i parked up on the couch around Christmas and just watched this movie together

I forgot how much the Heritige of the Wolf scene makes me cry.

This movie was often played on TV between Christmas and New Year, and I have my birthday around that time, so it always had a special place in my heart. It was also the gateway to both online fandom spaces and my wolf phase as a tween, so when I visited New York City aged 11 it was utterly amazing to visit the memorial in Central Park. My parents and I were only there for a week but I went to see Balto three times. Even stranger, though I didn't have a particular interest in it as a child, I ended up studying infectious diseases at university. When we learned about diphtheria it only highlighted how terrible the stakes were for the people of Nome, and how relieved they must have been to receive the medicine from the dogsled relay. This film is not only beautiful but has had a profound impact on my life without me realising it until much later, and I'm glad so many others give it the attention it deserves.

First, extra points for the Wolf's Rain OST use. If you ever do a video on that series you'll have a watcher in me. Thank you for explaining why so many 90s-00s kids have taken to this movie. It's not the first animated movie to use animals in a metaphor for an anti-racism message (Land Before Time is another good example) but it's one of the best examples of such from my childhood. Perhaps watching this is partly why I'm still fascinated with the North and look up the nature and culture of Alaska, Canada, northern Russia etc. often. Kudos for giving the full background of the 1925 serum run. It's stories like that that are a credit to our species - and the canines'.

The Land Before Time made me cry every time, but it was always, and will always, be among my favorite films. When my mother passed away in 2020, that scene, where Littlefoot lost his mother, took on a. . . Not COMPLETELY new cast. . . But it certainly was something that comforted me, allowing me to find healing in the memories of learning to deal with death of a mother so many years ago. And the White Wolf scene always took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. So perfectly evocative!

This film along iwth the others, shaped my childhood. I'd never seen such beautiful and surreal animation, along with the story that completely blew my 6 year old brain away. I often had dreams of it, and I watched all the movies again and again and again. I've never seen much appreciation for them so I'm very happy that someone else loves them as much as I do.

This movie makes me want to go back to the beautiful and meaningful animations of before. Especially those based on animal protagonists. It's something I'm thinking about for the future.

This movie was my favorite and still lasts to be to this day. I even wanted to run the iditarod so bad as a kid. Im so glad I found your channel again, it's been a breath of fresh air and I got so many good book recommendations in the last few days. Thanks for what you do, it's obvious you put a lot of work into the research and presentation.

I don't even know where to begin about how much this movie impacted my life way-back-when. I know I found it at the thrift store, on a beaten up vhs that shone to child me like a ray of holy light. The heroic story of a wolf, the sled dogs, the sled dog racing, the atmosphere and the music and everything about it. I couldn't stop drawing the scenes and interactions, in comics and stills, even creating comics very much different from the original material. It wasn't quite what first awoke my wolf, but it brightly lit the flames and kept them alight. The thing I believe is unique about my experience with Balto is that I was born, raised, and still live in my home Alaska. Howling at the moon in the dead of winter, at the Aurora borealis, laying in the sub zero snow at midnight with my sister watching the stars whilst pretending to be the white wolf and a human child she had befriended. I remember creating sled paths in our yard by crawling endlessly through the deep snow then pretending to be a sled dog, pulling my sister across the trails on our orange sled ( I'm proud to say out of our friends I was the fastest sled dog, stated clearly by my sister!) It was customary we learned about sled dog racing in school and it was wonderful, I remember in 5th grade being one of 3 kids who maneuvered a musher's sled into our classroom so that real Iditarod racers could explain its functions and elements while we climbed all over it. After which, we brought it back outside and the whole class got to play with one of their sled dogs. My parents have family friends who are mushers and I remember going to their dog yards and playing with all the huskies in their little huts. I remember also, my dad was an adamant adventurer and would relentlessly take me and my sister on adventures, in positive 90 and negative 20, whether we wanted to or not. The Alaskan wilderness, another home of mine, and the place I lived as a wild wolf- running through tundras (would't advise in areas with tussock), climbing tors, finding unseen edens in the wild and even climbing the gold-dredge! I always could trick my sister into playing along, even if she was a kitten in our games I was overjoyed to be a wolf! One of the things I find ever appreciated in Balto is the portrayal of the Alaskan wilderness in winter. Snow is reflective and at any given moment will reflect the color of the sky- and as you said, we have late sunrises and early sunsets ( in winter) so at 3 during the day the snow often reflects shades of bright yellow, orange, and pink. Even when the Aroura is out, if you're in a dark enough place it's light will be mirrored in the snow. Balto was greatly involved in my early life journey with art, I never could stop drawing wolves, it was beyond obsessive and helped me connect with and convince other kids to play games with me. There was a repeated effort in school that whenever I struck a chord with someone else we would attempt to create a wolf-centered art club, I would be the teacher and help others draw wolves. This art obsession has grown far beyond wolves, and far beyond paper art. I've always been entranced by animation, I created many paper and digital animations growing up and still do it. The expressions in movement and the emotions you can invoke with skillfully placed lines, the endless possibilities, such an overlooked invitation of imagination. I love the visual art of Balto, they never doubted how well attuned kids are to visual storytelling. I hope to someday create an animated wolf piece, I have a singular episode of a series idea in the process of being created that I may upload on my main account once finished - a bit of an homage to the films and RU-vid series that inspired me to draw as a child. Such things helped me gain my footing in hopes of becoming a mangaka, an animator, even a musician, I owe a lot to those wonderful wanderings Balto ( and others ) put my mind in. Scattered thoughts, just a few of the thousands of stories I could tell about wolves and being a kid. I'd absolutely recommend giving the youtube series "The White Wolf With the Blue Eyes" and "eighty-six" a viewing, seeing how you're into dark animal fiction- beware the blood and gory visuals, also quite slow paced! Loving the Wolf's Rain music btw, it was partially those early internet W's R AMVs that inspired me to play electric guitar!

Wow! 😃 I just watched the older version of this video on the 27th anniversary of its release, and I had to do a double take when I saw that there was a re-release of this awesome video/analysis. "Balto" was one of those animated classics that got me through middle and high school as well as adolescence because I could easily relate to the title character's inner conflict. As a child, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a milder form of autism spectrum disorder. I can't speak for everyone who has Asperger's Syndrome (as ASD manifests itself differently for different individuals), but for me, it's like being a hybrid, or being half-autistic and half neuro-typical. Because of this, I seem relatively "normal" but with quirks that can set some people off-guard. For instance, I am a huge nature lover, and I can remember taking a cricket out the backdoor in the science classroom and hearing the classroom snicker as I put the insect outside to prevent it from being squished. Also, over the years, I have witnessed hobbies and interests that people on the spectrum or geeks tend to enjoy (i.e. animation/anime) or ASD itself become the subject of heavy derision. People tend to misperceive both people on the spectrum and animation in general as being juvenile. Thankfully, these once-common misperceptions are slowly shifting away from that. Anyway, I love your documentary/analysis on the true events that transpired almost a century ago and the animated feature film. For awhile, I found this movie to be decent but cheesy, but after seeing this video, I see this film with a new set of eyes. I don't think the film is perfect, and I agree that the polar bears Muk and Luk were not needed (which is a shame, since I like some of Phil Collins’ songs and believe he was wasted playing this role), but much of the film still holds up even after more than 25 years. I've noticed that the storytelling techniques of "Balto" share some similarities with Studio Ghibli films, like certain scenes having little to no dialogue and letting the animation and music tell the story. Also, many Ghibli films' conflicts revolve around man against nature and/or man against self, and I am always intrigued by stories delving into the character's inner conflicts. Speaking of Ghibli, Jim Cummings also voiced one of the antagonists in the film, "Castle In The Sky". I had a good laugh listening to his voice when watching the film the first time many months ago, and thought to myself, "Is that Jim Cummings? He almost sounds like Steele!" 😄 Plus, Mark Hamill, the voice of another antagonist in "Castle In The Sky" also voiced the antagonist in "Balto: Wolf Quest". Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts, and I hope you have a merry Christmas! 🎅⛄❄🎁♾

I have noticed that Balto has an unusual hold over those of us born in 1995.

I have so many things to say about Balto (great video, btw!!), but the main thing that I always loved about the movie was the theme about belonging. I have noticed in so many people with a mixed background, thus feeling of not belonging anywhere. I see it in people who are mixed race and I see it in people who came from one culture but grew up in another. This existential homelessness has fascinated me and torn at my heartstrings for years. We have so many middle eastern immigrants in my country, Denmark, who are ethnically 100% middle eastern, but culturally they are a strange mix of their parents' background and Danish. For me, I just see them as Danes at this point, because we have had a growing population of middle easterners for a few decades now so it's not a new and strange sight here anymore. But I know that for many of them, there is an existential homelessness there, where they don't feel fully Danish and then when they visit their country of origin, where they thought they would fit in, they stand out even more. I have close friends who are mixed race and who struggle with felling like they don't fit in. One is part Asian and has struggled with feeling like they aren't Danish enough, despite being one of the most Danish people I know. I have another friend who lives in the middle east who is part white and passes for white and they too feel alienated in their own country. It's just such a fascinating topic and Balto nails it so well. We all have aspects of ourselves that alienates us from being content with who we are and it doesn't all have to be about where you grew up or who your parents are. Sometimes it's as simple as not fitting in with the other kids in school because your brain works differently from the others or your interests or personality doesn't fit with the group. But the theme of being stuck in limbo with your own identity is a very important one and I genuinely feel like Balto handled that subject in a way that every kid could understand and, if not in the moment then later on in adulthood, reflect on. I also agree with you on the score. What a powerful masterpiece that was. We were so spoiled in the 90s. What a decade that was for western animation.

Putting "Brothers" in the section where you talked about the concept of mortality hit me really hard. Wasn't expecting to get misty-eyed on RU-vid today, but here we are. Fully intending to watch Balto over the weekend and get misty-eyed over it, too.

I havent watched this movie since i was a child back in the early 2000s, and watching this now unlocked that deep ugly crying i had back then as well xD. A great piece to watch as the temperature outside sits in the negatives looming christmas eve, thank you for making this!

I cried just watching the snippets of the movie in this video, never a dry eye whenever I watch the full thing.

RU-vid tossed you into my recs and I fell in love, as an artist making xenofiction comics, getting to find your discussions gave me a huge boost to genre.

Your enthusiasm for the genre encouraged me to pick up your Book+pdf combo. I didn't want to wait to start reading but I still wanted a physical copy... Merry Christmas!

I own that book "The Cruelest Miles" . I wanted to do a retelling of these events from the dogs perspective and was using it for research. Great read

There are so many beautiful little touches in this film, from the funny like how the telegraphist laughs in morse and his dog barks likewise, to the really touching, like how when the people celebrate Balto on his return. As they reach to pet him he shies away for a second, not used to human touch.

Me, through tears: They're all good pups, and they saved the day~

Imagine my surprise in seeing a newly posted hour long video essay of Balto in my recommended. I'm another one of those who watched this film over and over as a child, and it's beauty always haunted me. I have it on Blu Ray and still pop it in from time to time. The lack of good Balto content on the internet is sad, and I loved every part of your essay. It's nice to see someone still remembers and appreciates it into adulthood, and you managed to articulate so many thoughts I have about it so well. Though I do like Muk and Luk ;)

Had to pause part way through and watch Balto and come back to this video

Balto is one of those movies that I will never forget. It was a masterpiece

The red lantern is not only a metaphor but something that’s actually part of the race. The last person to finish the race gets the red lantern award.

Watched as much decent Balto review/analysis content as I could find on RU-vid, and this one (didn't even need a remaster that much) is still the best. Due to the similar to the movie down-to-earth tone and obvious audible (as well as visible) emotional investment in it.

Thank you for this video - Balto was my favorite movie as a child, and it's wonderful to see it so thoroughly showcased the way that you have! I actually teared up rewatching the white wolf scene again. Child-Me had impeccable taste lol! Once again, great work!

This movie has a special place in my heart and revisiting it with you was truly a fantastic journey, thank you so much!

I am from Alaska and balto is my all time favorite

"Balto" is one of my favorite movies as a child. I promised myself, if I'm ever able to get a Dog, I'll name them Balto ❤

Can you imagine being the sole doctor, isolated, and then having to handle an epidemic?

Thanks for making this video, it was such an enjoyable watch. Growing up in the rural country, surrounded by nature, dogs have been in my life since I was born, and there was always a sort of reverence for them, both as family members and companions. Parents always told me to "take the dogs with you" whenever I went out exploring, so they could watch out for snakes, coyotes, bobcats, and wolves (the few that were left back then). Dogs were always a positive force throughout my childhood. I remember reading a small picture book about Balto when I was around five or six, and being captivated by the heroism centered around a team of sled dogs. Once the film came out about a year or so later, I remember going to see it with my family. It only seemed natural that dogs would go to such lengths to save humans, as that was how they were in my own life. It's a real shame they don't make animation like this anymore. These are the kinds of films we need to preserve and show to our children.

There was something serious and special about movies with a silent side to them, as if creators trusted children with understanding the serious topics, while also providing everything necessary to that in the visuals and audio. Balto and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron are still absoultely nailing it.

damm, I forgot how incredible this movie was. well, I didnt forget, no. I forgot how felt to watch these scenes

There is a reason the VHS tapes of Balto, the Lion King, the Fox and the Hound, Air Bud, and Homeward Bound: the Incredible Journey were almost to the point of being unplayable in my home back in the 1990’s and the early 2000’s. The magic, wonderment, the beauty of the animation before our eyes (for the first three), the feats and tragedies accomplished by simple house pets (for the latter two), and (as my twin and I grew older) the messages portrayed in these animal-centric films caused us to watch them repeatedly. Sometimes multiple times a day on the weekends or after our homework was done. I will never forget the moment the white wolf appeared in Balto; the moment I realized that Mufasa was dead in the Lion King; the moment Chief was injured and Copper vowed to avenge him in the Fox and the Hound; the moment Josh told Buddy that he didn’t want him anymore as a way to protect him from his former owner in Air Bud; and the moment Shadow declared that there was no way for him to finish the trek home to his master in Homeward Bound: the Incredible Journey. Almost no movie after Disney’s renaissance period hit me the way these movies did during my formative years. My twin and I related more to animals than we did people when we were young. Bullied as children, we were moved more by the plight of fictional animals than those faced by humans. When adult critics say that animated films are for children and don’t need to be well done or portray a hard message, they fail to realize that, seeing animals suffer in ways that children may suffer (lose hope and find it again, watch a parent die, build and then tear down friendships, and lose their beloved pets) softens the blow of reality, but just enough that they learn lifelong lessons. There is no doubt that my own feelings of empathy and compassion for others (be they animal or human) in adulthood first came to me in the form of animal-centric media. My drive for hard work (in school and in my career) came from viewing the journeys these animals went on. I know I was not mature enough (being born in 1992) to understand these lessons at my first viewing of these amazing films, but repeat watches over many years fermented them. Even though I am almost 31 years old now, I can repeat each line of these five films by heart. There are only two human-centric films that I can repeat in the same manner: Stand By Me and Beauty and the Beast. Stand By Me was the very first rated-R movie my parents let us watch. The sight of the dead body and how it impacted Gordie was the first time I ever cried watching a film without animals (not counting the minute or two of screen time Chopper got). Beauty and the Beast was a film we watched once or twice as children, but we didn’t care about the plights of a human girl and a furry “goat man” back then. It was during my very late teenage years that I found the VHS and watched it again, finally understanding the messages it contained and categorizing it as one of my all-time favorite animated films. There is only one other animated movie that is on par with all these films, but it definitely doesn’t fit the mold of my comment: the Brave Little Toaster. My twin and I were terrified of the imagery in this movie, but would watch it fairly frequently, as if trying to resolve our fear. I remember envying the comradeship the appliances had for each other. We had a few neighborhood friends growing up, but many would go on to become our bullies in later years. These appliances had a friendship akin to that of a family. You bicker and have your differences, but you are still a family that loves each other, much like my own. Despite the protagonists being mere appliances, I understood that as a very young kid. I watched a few live action films with bickering friends (the Wizard of Oz being a frequent watch because it played on TV almost every year), but because of my disinterest in the plights of other people, I didn’t care about them. They didn’t resonate with me yet. They certainly do nowadays, but it took the repeated viewings of my favorite animal movies for the resonance to set in fully. I’m glad to have watched this review. It brought back so many good memories. Thank you for sharing your interpretation. I, too, agree that the white wolf can be interpreted in many angles. However, I believe the wolf to be real. The film establishes early on that wolves recognize Balto as one of their own. He rejects the first pack. This white wolf comes to him in much the same manner. While at first Balto rejects the creature, he does finally come to terms with why wolves recognize him. It is because he is one deep down. He is equally a dog and a wolf. Balto spent his entire life trying to live as a dog. He desires human companionship, would never dream of biting a human, and wants to please people in the way that domestic dogs do. But he realizes (when his footprint matches the white wolf’s) that he can no longer swallow his wolf side. Born a halfbreed, his canine half stripped him of predatory instincts, but the wolf half gave him the physical and psychological instinct to survive. “If only he could see what he is,” Boris said, and that’s just what Balto does. The survival instincts of the wolf inside him save both the sled dogs and the medicine. The other reason I believe the wolf is real is simple: the sled dogs hear the howling! Thank you again for this video! It was a joy to watch and listen to!

As a child this movie was so important to me, I watched Balto and Balto II so many times. We had it on VHS I believe, and my mom got it because it was set in Alaska, and as a child born in Alaska I thought it was so cool! We had two of our huskies and even watched sled dog races. I don't care what anyone says, it'll remain in a special place in my heart forever.

The thing that blows my mind every time, year and year, is how genuinely cold the atmospheres look. It is not a disney winter like it is in 'more sophisticated' frozen and friends, it's the genuine low angle of sun, blinding white, and dark blue of arctic winters, and I think that's why it never gets old for me.

Not only have You shared a thoughtful, intellectual journey with us about this film, You have honored the vastly talented creators with featured importance to their achievements, their animated masterpieces, in your research along the way... "Secret of NIMH", "The Plague Dogs" , "The Iron Giant", "Fantastic Mr. Fox", and " Water Ship Down"... among others.

Another beautiful video essay, this movie was my childhood, thank you so much for covering it and making remember this masterpiece ❤️

I made sure to play Balto for my own kids, they love it. The White Wolf is one of my favorite character designs ever.🤍

i was a Jack London fan as early as grade school. i kinda developed insomnia in high school and would just watch whatever at 1am….on night Balto came on. Wow! What a gem 💎 to stumble on.

i am SOOOO happy someone is talking about this movie! 😭 it’s so nostalgic for me i would watch it on repeat for days and something about it was just so moving and still is to me ❤

Thank you for the history summary of the events. There's something about the hopeless/hopeful combination of people working together to help others like this, hearing about all the mushers and the routes they had to take, all the children in such a remote area (similar things happening with the spanish flu in nordic lapland too, but never on this scale) genuinely has me in tears now, god, I need a break.

This video is fantastic and definitely a much better one than the nostalgia critic review that I remember being shown years ago. Art at its best is illusions which point us towards truth, in a way, so nature can realize her goals. I saw Balto when it came out and that white wolf scene has never left my dreams, and you are right in that its power lies in the fact that whoever she is, it impacts regardless. Merry yuletide!

I've always been fascinated by both Balto and Jenna, Balto for seeing myself in him and Jenna for thinking she was a pretty dog.

Excellently written video, man, and with editing to match. Your choice of music to have in the background is always a nice touch, too. Whether it's an ambiance track from The Witcher, well, providing ambiance, or the theme from Fullmetal Alchemist when discussing mortality. Spot-on. You're articulate with your points and rarely carry on past the point where what you're saying is made clear. You being a writer makes sense.

Thank you for this video. A true childhood staple for me, especially around Christmas time.

Thank you for this deep-dive into one of my greatest childhood favorites. Brought me to tears, and I loved the thoughtful historical introduction to balance the fantasy of the movie.

Can’t believe I missed this in my subscription feed, this was the remaster I was looking forward to the most. I wish I still had my VCR so I could still watch this film, I can’t even count how many times I’ve watched it.

This was a wonderfully done video, perfectly portrays just how amazing this film was and still is. I absolutely adore Balto and used to watch it so much as a kid. Watching this video, going through the scenes and hearing the beautiful scores just brought back so many memories and emotions to me. I remember the coffin scene and the white wolf scene sticking vividly with me after I first saw it. Seeing Rosy suffering from her illness and the way the movie treated it, even as a kid I could tell it was something to take seriously. Balto was just an amazingly beautiful movie and seeing this video was a joy to watch.

Probably the best review i've heared about this movie. I love this movie since my childhood, but now i love it even more for how well made and thought-out it truly is! It's such an emotional and beautiful movie in different ways!

This was one of my favorite movies as a kid! But shout out to Togo, the real hero is in the serum run! 🐕

I grew up watching this, too. Even when I was younger, I could tell that it was different than the other movies. On par with the first Land Before Time and the first Rescuers movie for dark subject matter, thematic resonance, film quality in general, and how much “heart” was put into the film rather than just looking to make something that makes money. That said, even as a child I **hated** those idiot polar bears… as in I was genuinely angry that the animators put them in to make the film “more child friendly” aka patronizing af. TL;DR: thank you for doing a video on Balto this close to Christmas. You’re appreciated.

This movie is what got me interested in sled dogs and the culture around it, made me appreciate the polar beauty of Alaska and so much more. It may have been highly fictional and reality was a lot harsher than the movie implies, but Balto is definitely a core memory movie right beside Treasure Planet Also, thank you for covering the whole relay. A lot of cases skip over the effort and numbers in favor of one sled or another, especially Balto and more recently, Togo. There were many more hands and paws in the miracle run than them and they deserve the acknowledgement. Thank you. I also always thought it was hilarious that they were so against a wolf-dog when he probably would have been massive and extremely hardy in the cold, instead of the whispy pooch he is compared to a malamute but small things 🤷‍♀️

The white wolf was always the spirit of Balto’s mom for our family. I don’t know where it came from but that was just how we all saw it.🤍🐺

I can see this man maing a video about spirit stallion of the cimarron...and I'm waiting for the day to come

I actually saw the movie for the first time in school, around christmas I think because although I'm dutch, I guess dutch folks thought the movie was a good holiday movie and I'd say it is! I remember being upset because when class was over (I was like 7 years old) and it was time to go home we hadn't finished the movie and I was left to wonder how it would end so I spent a lot of time trying to find the movie on youtube when I was 11 or 12 years old and had to make do with terrible quality rips. I'm glad I did it though, because while this is still my childhood, it just goes to show how childhood stuff can be hard to obstain for some even back then when you'd think this movie would be in a dollarstore bin or something. It's why videos like these matter, to keep them alive and introduce new audiences to these gems.

To me the white wolf has always felt like just the visual representation of Balto's own strengths - it doesn't have to be a real wolf, or a parent, or a ghost, it can genuinely just be a beautiful mystery, a sign that he has decided for himself that come what may, he can still do his best to help others around him and do so as all that he is.

Balto is and always my favorite movie

Watching this as the new year rolls in and actually crying.

You really need to be picked up by a streaming service and given a budget and access to a full team so more people can see your work. I absolutely adore what you put out. Keep it up!! Balto always was a favorite, as a bit of an outcast myself who lived on the edge of a small town growing up to say I identified pretty hard with the main character of this film is a vast understatement and it is one I will happily re-watch today. Heritage of the Wolf is an absolute banger of a scene.

Whenever I’m sick, I put Balto on. It takes me back to my childhood days.

I watched this movie in a different language and I can't remember if it had English subtitles, but this is weirdly one of my earliest memories that I've completely forgotten about until now.

94 baby here, and 100% one of my favorite childhood animated movies while growing up. ♥

This film is still a timeless classic even though its fictional. Does the lesson of the story do well even if it is based on fiction? I'm inclined to say Yes it does. The Message of the film is to accept your past, and use it in the now to help yourself and others with your gifts, even if they are considered untamed by others. Be who you are and do your best

I honestly was glad that this movie and other kid movies confronted death. Especially with children, I lost a cousin eightish at the time (complications due to her medical condition) then and an uncle who was twelve (a cancer rare for his age) when both were impactful especially my cousin as we were close. These movies helped me grasp death and unpack the trauma around it.

This was one of my favorite movies growing up, I absolutely loved its characters, music and of course, animation. A rewatch is definitely needed. Thanks for this great video!

Beautiful work. Thank you so much for putting so much work into this. Balto has a very special place in my heart.

“From The year of my birth…1995” (and thus I flinch) but well done and I grew up watching this too thanks for the historical context and attention to detail.

"Steel, voiced by Jim Cummings" I remember watching this on VHS with friends and someone mentioning that Steel was voiced by the same guy who did Winny the Pooh and now I just can't unhear Winny the malamute.

You have no idea how delighted I am to find literally anyone else who grew up with _The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time,_ and _Balto!!_ 🤩 They were so much better, so much deeper, so much darker than the fluffy, fun Disney movies of the same time… but that’s why I LOVED them - and still love them more! I know so few people who grew up with Bluth movies like I did.

The fact this man is pushing 30 caught me off guard so much.

I went to New York City in 2016, and one of the things I've always wanted to see was the Balto statue and was so excited to finally see it in person, I love this film and watched it a lot between 2001-2003, I also remember watching this film with my grandfather (who passed in 2017) and he accurately predicted the whole plot at the scene where Balto watched Steele and his dog sled team leave.

I'm glad that you talked about Togo and the other sled dogs, I never used to know about them until fairly recently

39:15 I saw like half this movie once as a 5th grader but some of these scenes right now have me nearly in tears

Yo what the heck, I was just watching your One For Sorrow video when you mentioned you'd be covering Balto someday, only to discover today, 9 months or so after that video, the day I was watching it, was in fact, that day! I'm looking forward to this - Happy Holidays!

I think you would like Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron. It is similar to this, but even more subtle and artistic with the animals. The colors are not as great, but the score is one of the best film scores ever made.

This video made me cry. I loved this movie as a child and I still love it as an adult! Great video!

wow, talk about timing - my fiancée and I just found your channel and finished the original version of this video last weekend!

Such a great movie, I remember relating to balto so much being mixed white and native American not really fitting in anywhere. The scene with the tiny coffins was so profound conveying the unnatural greif of burying children. This was a very well done presentation 👏 👍 I'm 33 years old and I still tear up at the white wolf scene. Even though people will say it's not historically accurate most of us wouldn't know the real story at all if not for this movie

My childhood is right here 😭